Britain signs immigration deal with Turkey

The British government wants to use all means to stop people crossing the English Channel illegally in boats – and now the bank has a deal with Turkey. The upcoming parliamentary elections also play a role in this.

Great Britain has signed an agreement with Turkey to combat irregular immigration. As announced by the British Home Office, the deal includes a competence center to be set up by the Turkish police and, among other things, provides for easier data exchange. Police officers of both countries should take joint action against the smuggling gangs.

There are also plans to exchange more information to disrupt the supply chain of boats and boating equipment. According to a report in the Sunday Times newspaper, British criminal police believe that most of the inflatable boats used by the trawlers were made in Turkey and fitted with engines from China. Criminals would store them in German warehouses and then take them to the French or Belgian coast.

Many inflatable boats made in Turkey

At the request of the Federal Criminal Police Office (PKA), numerous smuggling organizations use inflatable boats to transport illegal immigrants from France or Belgium to Great Britain. “Such attempts to cross the English Channel are known to pose significant risks to migrants’ lives.”

In principle, the BKA confirmed the newspaper report, according to which many of these boats are manufactured in Turkey and Germany plays a role as a “transit country” and “interim storage location”.

Cooperation with countries of origin and transit

“As I have already made clear, we must do everything we can to break up the trawler rings and stop the boats,” British Home Secretary Suella Braverman said. “Our partnership with close friend and ally Turkey will allow our law enforcement agencies to work together on this international issue and tackle the small boat logistics chain,” Braverman continued.

According to the Ministry of Interior, the two countries reiterated their commitment to cooperation in this area and strengthening cooperation with countries of origin and transit of migrants. The new plan will soon be presented at the UK-Turkey Dialogue on Migration in London.

Minister of State for Migration Robert Jenrick refused to say how much the deal with Turkey would cost British taxpayers. It is primarily about information exchange and education, he told “GB News” television.

Great Britain tightened Migration policy

More recently, the Conservative government in London announced several – often highly controversial – plans to block potential asylum seekers from crossing into Great Britain. For example, a start has been made to transfer some asylum seekers to a larger boat off the south coast. He has also threatened life in prison for lawyers who help immigrants falsify asylum applications.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said this year’s policy aims to reduce the number of migrants entering the country without permission. He wants to reduce opposition Labor’s huge lead in opinion polls.